Flight To The Faraway City

The day dawned finally for the pure blood’s travel to the faraway city. He was excited as well as apprehensive. Having stayed put in one place for about a couple of years had made him quite cozy and comfortable. All the way to the airport he had mixed feelings – should he be going? What is the use? Could he not have explored more in this city itself? The risk of venturing into unknown territory was preying heavily on his mind. The otherwise long journey from his home to the airport ended rather quickly at this unearthly hour. However, he had no time left to brood since there was a sizeable queue for entering the airport premises! And his flight was due in an hour’s time!

His mind mechanically told him to jump the queue and that’s exactly what he did, much to the shock and utter disbelief of those waiting for their turn. Back then, there was not much strictness on getting to the airline counter for a boarding pass. In his hurry the pure blood had missed getting his suitcase scanned though the x-ray machine. So huffing and puffing, he went back and loaded his luggage through the scanning machine. He did manage to get a boarding pass, with a sigh of relief, but as he turned around, it seemed his worries were not over yet. The lone queue for the security check was long and winding and seemed bigger than the one outside. He quickly joined it, dripping with perspiration. He nervously kept turning his wrist to check each second ticking. This time the Spicejet staff bailed him out. Loud shouts for passengers for the flight to the faraway city came as music to his ears and he promptly dashed off to the airline staff. VIP treatment was showered on him as he was personally led though the security check, escorted on to the bus and gingerly helped on the airstair to board the waiting aircraft. Eventually he boarded the flight with only a few minutes to spare.

This close shave had diverted his mind from the larger purpose of all this frenzy and running around. He felt hungry as well. After settling down and once the flight was airborne, he took out his notepad and chalked out a detailed itinerary for the coming 2 weeks of his stay. Even with little in hand, he listed other options that had been bearing on his mind for some time now. He also jotted down a list of known connections – friends, batch mates, acquaintances etc. in the faraway city. Clarity of thoughts helps, he smiled to himself. By the time his flight was touching down, he felt geared up for the challenge.

The pure blood’s best buddy from school was working in the faraway city and stayed in an apartment. He was overjoyed to learn that the pure blood was contemplating a shift to the faraway city. Since it was a Saturday, he had come to pick up the pure blood from the airport. They chatted merrily about their school days, laughing on funny anecdotes and reliving memories of their best years. They were meeting after 3 years and no amount of phone calls or chatting through the internet could take away the pure pleasure of speaking face to face.

Over the weekend, apart from going to a few landmarks in the city, the pure blood called up all his known people for advice and way forward. Some of them were not lawyers, yet they tried to reach out to their contacts rather efficiently. By Sunday night, he had got some sure shot contacts. Some were phone numbers and others email addresses of partners or senior associates. After dinner, he sent out applications and requests for meetings for the duration of this stay. For those law firms for whom he did not get a contact, he decided to drop in personally. He had a map of the faraway city at his disposal and marked out places close to his scheduled interview locations. He expected to be free after about 2 hours of the interview time, giving him plenty of scope to check out these places. He had enquired the availability of reliable public transport from his friend.

Before going to bed late that night, he felt a lot better about the whole visit. His first interview was scheduled next day in the morning and he didn’t want to be late, so he set up the alarm in his mobile phone and closed his eyes.
 

Disinvestment

The pure blood had a busy festive season. Although he tried his best to take out time for his studies, yet undue client pressures and chores at home somewhat took a toll at times. Visits to relatives and a steady stream of guests and visitors added to the time constraint. Since this was a new area for him, with every passing day he was getting nervous. His whole plan of targeting the faraway city would receive a setback if he was unable to crack this one.

He has researched extensively on the internet to make himself familiar with the subject. In fact the website of the interviewer company had all the requisite information. He downloaded as much as he could on to his desktop in office. In those days, laptops had not yet made an entry in his firm. It was not safe to save a lot of material not related to his assignments. His desktop could hardly be called ‘personal’ except that it was placed on his work station. Anyone could access it with the password generously shared with colleagues.

He also needed printouts of some material which he could read only at home. This posed another challenge since the room housing printers in his office also housed other staff. Either he dared to do it right under their nose or he had to wait for it to be devoid of them. He chose the latter. For that he had to wait till late in the evening. This was not feasible any day now since he was not the only one facing the client heat. Many other colleagues too stayed late and he felt it useless to wait endlessly for them to pack up. At last his opportunity came on a late Saturday afternoon. Office was half day on Saturdays and most of the staff cleared out by 3 p.m. He double checked to ensure that no one else was around and furtively clambered the stairs to printer room. He switched on one of the computers. Since most of them were quite old it took ages to boot. Finally once it was ready, he logged in and began taking the prints. While his prints were going on, he heard the creaking of the stairs leading to the room.

His heart skipped a beat. He quickly assimilated the printed papers below some of his client papers. Soon the office in-charge stepped in. Since it was not uncommon to find the pure blood in office at that hour, it did not raise any doubt in the mind of the office in-charge. He merrily chatted for a few minutes and then went about his assigned duties. The rest of the printing was uneventful. With a bag brimming with papers, the pure blood stepped out of office. He poured through the papers the next day, it being a Sunday. He had carefully avoided any engagements that day and devoted time for final preparation for his upcoming interview next week.

He had taken half day leave on the day of the interview. He patiently waited for the call at the appointed time. Keeping in mind the previous debacle, he had categorically instructed the consultant to convey to the interviewer to call on his home landline number. The loud ringing of the phone made him jump a bit. He picked up and got into the act immediately. There was a lady at the other end with a soft pleasant voice, who introduced herself as a manager in the legal team. After that she asked the pure blood to run through his resume, which he did. She asked him about his experience in drafting contracts relating to international financial transactions. He upfront mentioned that he didn’t have any but since he had read up he was familiar with the terms. She patiently heard and also mandated that experience in their area was a preference and not a pre-requisite for the position on offer. As the interview progressed, she was neutral to the responses. The pure blood was not sure where this was heading.

Once the regular questioning was done, she began explaining the role played by the company’s office in the faraway city. The company, being a multi-national and having presence in multiple jurisdictions required various kinds of research and standard agreements to be drafted. These were generally carried out by the team at this office. Since the company’s global operations had increased manyfold in recent times, they were required to expand their team size to meet the growing demand. The position involved limited interaction with some other lawyers within and was generally backend in nature. She then asked him bluntly if he would be interested in such kind of profile where there not much involvement of Indian laws and the requirement was to carry out standard research and draft standard contracts with pre-defined templates. He was stomped. All the research, effort and time spent on planning for this opportunity with the world’s leading investment bank seemed going down the drain. It appeared that essentially this office was an outsourcing office. After some further probing and discussion, which reaffirmed his conclusion, he signed off after seeking time to think it over. Internally, though, he knew it was over and he would have to make his scheduled trip to the faraway city with not much in hand.

Exploring the Faraway City

After the lull, comes the storm. Having smelled the rose after many months, the pure blood was upbeat now. He shifted gears very fast over the next few days. With a little more effort he was able to complete the routine work much earlier, giving him the time for testing his thoughts. He had made up his mind to seek his fortunes in another city, much like Vasco da Gama or Amerigo! New things meant new thrills.

 

He began browsing various websites for more information on the faraway city. Some of the more profound ones had listing of law firms. A few of them also gave out rankings. Some of the so called big and reputed firms also had their offices there. But this was unchartered territory for the pure blood and he was not inclined to take chances. He preferred to be cautious before making a choice. The reliability of random websites was also doubtful. To some extent, he thought aloud, credible information was likely to be covered by the more popular websites such as Legal500.com, Chambers & Partners etc. The pure blood did not want to be too selective either, so he had kept an open mind even with respect to the small and relatively lesser known firms.

 

He jotted down the names of the firms he perceived would possibly have opportunities for him. The next step was to get their contact details. Most law firms in India don’t have their own websites due to restrictions imposed by the Bar Council of India. Hence the only option left was to fish out the details from the websites he had scanned earlier. Some threw up the desired results but some did not. Over a period of nearly 2 weeks he was able to gather contact numbers and email addresses.

 

Now came the most crucial element of implementation – initiating contact through calls and emails. This appeared to be more time consuming and certainly cumbersome at times. Getting to the right person was the eventual challenge. At that time most law firms did not have an established human resources person, let alone a dedicated team. More than often, one person would have an additional responsibility to respond to job applications. And the replies were typical one liners thanking the pure blood for applying and mentioning that there was nothing to suit his profile at the moment. Although they would agree to keep his profile in their database, which initially was a glimmer of hope, similar replies from some more firms assured him that these were standard responses and involuntarily included in replies to job applications. Sometimes his emails would go unanswered. He sent reminders and forwarded the applications but to no avail.

 

He had carefully drafted the cover letter, which was his only chance of introduction. Somewhere he had read that a job application gets about 5 minutes time of attention of the recruiter, so the margin of error was very thin. He had taken equal pains to get his resume in order -after drafting, redrafting, proof reading, down sizing, improving fonts, spacing between lines and paragraphs, increasing page margins… he was able to get the content to 2 pages. This was also a result of his earlier research – the more crisp the CV the better chances of being read. Otherwise it wouldn’t take long to be deleted from the recruiter’s already overflowing inbox. This editing had consumed more than a week’s time before the pure blood was satisfied with the output.

 

In his own database, he had created columns for the researched data as well as the results of implementation. However, the results columns did not fill up as quickly as expected, rather it was slow and at times very frustrating. But a determined pure blood carried out relentlessly. His perseverance bore fruit after about 2 weeks when the first positive response came. The managing partner of a local firm requested her colleague to fix up an interview with the pure blood. The pure blood’s ecstasy knew no bounds that day.

 

The office break was round the corner by now. The pure blood was working full steam to get as many hits as possible. God helps those who help themselves, goes the saying - a consultant also happened to fix a telephonic interview for him. This was for an investment bank looking out for a legal person in their India office located in the faraway city. With 2 successes in 2 days, the pure blood continued his hunt. However, nothing much happened over the next few days and with the impending interview, he now changed tracks and got down to some serious preparation for the same.

 

 

Long Distance Call

After a hiatus of about 4 months, the pure blood was beginning to come out of his cocoon again. It was akin to a cricketer going for practice once again after an injury break. Only in this case, it was not an injury break so to say, but rather a heart break! After as many as 3 attempts which came a cropper, self doubt had gnawed his soul and crept into his otherwise sharp mind. Somewhere deep down he had accepted self-defeat. This had some sort of a depression effect on him and consequently he had withdrawn into a shell. He existed only for his office, flow of assignments keeping him busy, superior’s continuous delegation of work leaving no room for any other thought - all of which had now become quite the order of the day and did not require much application of mind. So this way continued his mind more mechanically than ever.

 

This went on till one afternoon when something, that was long forgotten and a fading memory now, jolted him out of his autopilot mode. It was a call from a faraway consultant. His profile had been spotted by this lady in another city. She had a suitable position in a law firm in that city – would he be interested – she inquired. This option was comparable to a call received by a budding cricketer from a different IPL franchise after being rejected by his own city franchise. Without the slightest hesitation he agreed to share his latest profile. Outside his office window, the rain had just stopped and a rainbow was vaguely visible.

 

True to her words, the consultant arranged for an interview the next Saturday. Although it was a working day for the pure blood, he decided to take a leave. He stayed put beside the landline all morning. The call came at the appointed time but confirmed his worst fears. His mobile’s connection was generally fluctuating due to frequent loss of tower and now he would be doomed. After three rings he had no option but to press the green button. (p.s. those were the good ol’ times of keypad phones!).

“Hello Good Afternoon!” were the first words that he blurted out, out of pure nervousness and miscalculations of the call on his mobile. It was just past 11 o’clock. Fortunately, the bad connection came to his rescue – on the other side an echo appeared to say “Hello, can you hear us?” The momentary confusion had given the pure blood quick time to regain his composure. He continued the rest of the conversation in his usual confident and convincing style. There were 2 interviewers on the other side and being on ‘speaker’, at times their voices garbled. There were some further disruptions due to the mobile connection, but by now the pure blood had picked up momentum and continued with élan.  

 

It was more than an hour and more than one call (landline was the last resort!) before the interviewers got a sense of satisfaction. The pure blood could feel it in their voice as well as the choice of words and expressions. While at the start it was more of probing, now it was more of agreement. They seemed to be opening up more and more. So he took the opportunity to ask more about the role and work. The interviewers explained to him in detail. The job description was different from what he had done and he knew that his past experience would not count much. Yet he was intrigued that he was being considered for it. He also played along and listened attentively. Finally they came to the moot point – would he be interested in exploring this opportunity. “Why not?” he burst out instinctively, enthusiasm ringing high in his tone. One aspect of life that he had imbibed quite early, and followed it to the letter, was that he would not join the bandwagon.

 

The interviewers showed their keenness and did not waste another second in inviting him to their office. But law firms being law firms, they kept silent on the travel cost aspect. The pure blood was a perfect opportunist as well. He had just discovered a new opening, an estuary of new opportunities. And he was in no mood to let it go. He told them quite commandingly that if they would wait for a few days, he would arrange for the travel on his own. It was a win-win situation for the interviewers as well. They signed off on a positive note. It was settled that the pure blood would let the interviewers know of his travel plan.

 

An idea was brewing in the pure blood’s now active mind. After hanging up he sat on his mahogany desk and closed his eyes. It was important to create a blueprint in his mind. He could then draw up a plan and put it into action.

 

Round the Wicket

Having tried his luck with ‘catastrophic’ consequences and a paltry sum for ‘trial’, the pure blood decided to go round the wicket…began considering and applying for in-house roles. This seemed easier said than done. There were many opportunities available but none of the descriptions were attractive enough to grab his attention. He was not interested in being a mere ‘postman’ between the company and the external counsel…neither did he care for a compliance profile. His expectation remained of a creative career and dotted/filled with transactions. He continued to scan through various job portals on a regular basis and would refresh his job profile daily.

After quite a few days (looked like eternity, although probably only a month or so), he received a call from a recruitment consultant. He was intrigued when the consultant introduced himself as part of a consultancy specialized in legal jobs – something that was unknown in those days. The suave voice on the other side of the line had oodles of confidence and removed any doubt from the pure blood’s mind. He was offered 2 openings and the job descriptions shared through email. Eager to start the process, he went through the email the same night (well past midnight after a long day in office) and though he not quite clear on the role, next morning gave his consent for the interview.

It was almost a month before the interview could be scheduled by the consultant. The pure blood had almost given up when he got a call on a Monday morning. A couple of days later he was on his way to the office of the mid-sized information technology company. He has been warned of the long distance and corresponding time to reach the place where the IT Park was located. A stickler for punctuality, he had planned the journey to the minute. He left home a good 2 hours in advance, boarded the only bus that would take him to his destination. The winding roads seemed never ending and the crowd in the bus slowly thinned. He was wondering whether he was on the wrong track since after almost 90 minutes now, he was the only passenger left! Soon thereafter the speeding bus screeched to a halt and the conductor announced aloud that my stop had come. The pure blood looked around and was baffled since it was in the middle of nowhere. A few houses and small buildings could be seen at a distance. He double checked with the conductor, who with an irritating expression, pointed to a narrow dusty lane across the main road.

The pure blood got off quite reluctantly and ambled along as the May heat nearly engulfed him. After walking for a few minutes the dust gave way to a proper concrete road and the small buildings visible earlier came into view. These were not small anymore but large modern office building bringing relief to his mind. After making enquiries at roadside shops he reached the company’s magnificent four-storey glass building. The décor inside was tastefully done and the floors sparkling clean. The elegance everywhere echoed a sense of being looked after and cared for. After clearing the multiple security checks he was made to sit in a small but plush carpeted meeting room. He was admiring the painting on the wall opposite when there was a knock on the door.

A tall young man with curly hair walked in sharp at the interview time. He had a squarish jaw and a clipped moustache. The pure blood felt quite out of place since the interviewer was dressed in casuals and he was in heavy formals. The interviewer introduced himself in a cool unassuming voice as the human resources manager of the company’s local office. The interview commenced with the usual volley of questions. Next were questions around why the pure blood was interested in leaving a high profile law firm for a corporate job. The pure blood had tailor made answers for all. After almost an hour of discussions the HR manager finally asked if the pure blood had anything to ask. Since he was unsure of the exact role he asked questions concerning that.

The HR manager was instantly on the back foot. He stammered a bit as if trying to gather his thoughts. The role seemed to be coordination with the head legal of the company and finalizing various contracts entered into from the current location. If the contract required negotiation with the counter-party i.e. the company’s clients, then it would require conference calls with the company’s international headquarters. However, direct negotiation with a counter-party was not envisaged. On further probing, it emerged that in most cases the contracts would not require more than few changes to the company’s existing global templates. On enquiring about the team size, he was told that it would be one man show at this location and the incumbent would be entirely responsible for that location’s transactions. Currently they were managing from the company’s India head office and since the volumes were increasing multifold, a ‘helping hand’ was required. The salary package for a ‘helping hand’ was oddly quite high. It would be a 5 day week and sometimes late hours but generally a 9-6 job with cab facility and other perquisites/benefits.

The pure blood absorbed it all like a sponge. The pay perks together with the fixed timings was quite alluring. The opportunity to work with global lawyers was an added advantage. His thoughts were broken by the HR manager asking him a rather blunt question “Is it acceptable?” The pure blood almost blurted out ‘yes’ in a reflex action. “You can complete the formalities today and join from Monday” were the interviewer’s next words, possibly after having read the temptation on the pure blood’s expressive face. The perplexed pure blood protested “But I have to give notice”. “We do not have much time for that son. We’ve already selected a candidate who’s due to join on Monday but he’s not that experienced and we may need to recruit another lawyer…but your coming from a more renowned law firm will justify our argument for not hiring him or anyone else and save considerable cost”.

The pure blood felt a gun has been placed on his forehead, quite a formidable reason to meekly surrender his lofty corporate ambitions and beat a hasty retreat. 

Trial of an Experienced Lawyer!

The pure blood continued his search for that proverbial grape fruit after his first brush with an interview. In the process his meticulous research and par excellent timing landed him with another interview. This time the opportunity was with a smaller office of arguably the second best law firm of this country.

 

Having learnt his lesson from the earlier experience, he was careful to dot the i’s and cross t’s and scan every comma, semi-colon and full stop before taking the final print. The almost endless printouts in the waste paper bin, evidence of the high degree of precision in his presentation, were enough to raise a mini environmental concern. With the final print on bond paper, he could wipe the sweat off his brow.

 

On D-day, there was torrential downpour soon after the pure blood got into the public bus. Although he thanked his stars that his clothes were saved, nonetheless the bumper to bumper traffic was slowly getting on his nerves. The half hour journey had prolonged to more than an hour, what with the waterlogged roads and endless vehicles - he wondered what the government was doing to fulfill its election promises of clean drains and widening of road space for smooth travel. When his stop was approaching he was horrified at the knee deep water on the road. Some part of his mind which was still calm tried to explore workable solutions. Just then he spotted an empty auto rickshaw a little ahead where the water level seemed much lower. He gathered all his vocal strength and hailed it (the passenger beside him jumped in utter shock!). In a flash the pure blood was off the bus and had hopped into the auto with very minimal damage to his immaculate attire.

 

The auto carried the pure blood to the relative safety of the prospective firm’s office, which took some time to be located, considering the not so friendly neighbourhood coupled with the inclement weather. Once protected from the natural ‘calamity’, he took out his wrist watch from this waist pocket. He could not believe what he saw – nothing short of a man-made ‘calamity’ to him. He was not only behind time, not 5 or 10 minutes, but 45 minutes beyond the scheduled time. For a few seconds he froze, but fortunately regained his composure and decided to go ahead and still give it a shot.

 

He slowly pushed open the heavy glass door and entered. With his voice quivering a bit, he informed the front desk his name and purpose. The middle-aged sharp-looking bespectacled receptionist gave him a surprised look and his heart sank. ‘Not sure if you’re lucky, Mr. so and so (interviewer being a partner) has not yet returned from his morning meeting’. The simultaneous feeling of disbelief and relief made a weird combination on his countenance. He was asked to wait in the adjacent library.

 

As the thunderstorm raged outside, with every passing minute the pure blood’s anxiousness slowly began to show on his expressive face. He grew restless as minutes turned to hours. After 2 hours and a couple of inquiries for any message regarding his interview, the receptionist at last ushered him to the partner’s room.

 

The relatively young looking partner’s volley of questions was directed towards the pure blood’s general legal knowledge. It was turning into more of bookish knowledge until he was asked to apply them to the transactions captured in his CV. This was also not difficult as the pure blood’s high natural curiosity had ensured his application skills were considerably sharpened.

 

Impressed with the pure blood’s interaction, the partner referred him to the other partner in that office, the senior and more thoroughbred of the two. With a tinge of excitement bubbling within him, the pure blood followed the partner into the senior’s room. There was a brief introductory discussion after which the junior partner left softly closing the wooden door behind him.

 

The senior grilled the pure blood on all aspects of the work done by him. He further went on to explain the kind of work which their office primarily handled. Slowly the monologue veered towards whether the pure blood’s past experience would match or even supplement the firm’s current areas of practice. This was the question the pure blood had been preparing for quite some time, since he was aware that he was aspiring to move into a new area of practice and he may not have the advantage of his past experience. He made a strong pitch on his ability to quickly grasp new things as well as his high adaptability level. Moreover the fact remained that he had worked hard to equip himself with legal knowledge and had sufficient experience to deliver in his current firm. Further, to his credit, as a fresher he had no past experience and had learnt it all on the job! So he was prepared to do it all over again and perhaps put in more effort. The senior seemed convinced since the interaction went into deeper aspects and continued for close to an hour (generally considered an indication of the level of interest of the interviewer).

 

The pure blood was out in the open after almost 4 hours, the rain had stopped, water level had receded although rumbling of thunder could be distantly heard. Carefully avoiding the little puddles and the slush of passing water on the sloping roads, he made his way to the nearest bus stop. Throughout the return journey to his temporary residence he kept reflecting on the day’s various discussions, questions, answers, trying to gauge the impression of his interviewers from the various changing expressions as the interview progressed. Although he didn’t want to count his chickens before they hatched, he felt much better to conclude that he definitely stood a bright chance to make it through.

 

It was a week later that the pure blood received a response from the junior partner. The one line response read ‘We are happy to try you for a period of three months on a salary of .... per month.’ The bolt from the blue left him speechless and rooted to the spot for what appeared to be eternity.

What Has Jack & Jill Got To Do With Your CV?

 

The anomaly of penning about life as a qualified lawyer lies in the fact that one way or the other we end up discrediting what we do, or at best keep wishing for what we cannot do!

 

Any corporate lawyer (a true pure blood one) working for a 'top-notch' law firm will never admit the misery he goes from morning through next morning, without any break. He will instead brag about his 'hard work' to everyone he can, including his poor cousins who were not so 'fortunate' (half bloods) in joining the magic circle.

 

But as the saying goes, which I have always believed to be closer to the ultimate truth, "A man can fool everyone, except himself". The pure blood knows exactly where the shoe pinches! But his false sense of pride will egg him on to cover the cringe whenever the pinch hits him.

 

One such pure blood that I happen to acquaint told me how ridiculed he was at such a law firm. Having completed about 2 years in a smaller set up, he felt he was now prepared to take the plunge. So off he went putting CVs through owls at all the so called top corporate law firms. And voila! his efforts paid off when the invite for the interview came.

 

Dressed in his new white cuff-linked shirt and black trousers, he was seated inside the firm's plush office 15 minutes before time - 'on time is late' being his mantra. But being early had its consequences as well - frequent nervous looks at his wrist watch, hopeful eyes fixed on the petite receptionist, every intercom ring making his heart leap - all the ingredients of a nail-biting situation. 

 

Forty five minutes beyond schedule was getting too far, when he finally walked up to the damsel, who informed him that the interviewer was in a client meeting and will be a 'bit' late. But God is kind, a few more minutes later and with a stern look from the receptionist, he was ushered to a large conference room down the corridor.

 

The pure blood was now sweating all over, beads appearing on his forehead, despite the comfortable airconditioning. He quietly took the opposite chair and unmindfully sat on its edge. No sooner did he do that, that the door opened and a short, middle aged man with a neatly trimmed French beard appeared. The interviewer had arrived.

 

General introduction was followed by a description of the firm and the 'unique' work culture. Next on the agenda was a volley of questions, shot one after another, from the CV that had been presented. The pure blood answered all, diligently and confidently. He was sure he had aced it when all the topics were covered, or so he thought.

 

He had not paid much attention to the last section on 'co-curricular' activities and inspite of past experience with interviews, research on websites and general guidance from fellow professionals, he had not really focused on this part.

 

The first entry related to a moot court competition from his college days, in which he had represented his team as the official researcher. Pat came the question - what was the moot court problem?

Stumped (the pure blood's spontaneous reaction)!

 

Instinctively he racked his brains in vain - the few seconds of silence cost him dearly as we shall find out. The partner prodded some more into the moot court competition. By then the pure blood had gone completely blank. The next question was - Can you tell me the nursery rhyme - Jack & Jill? Come on, go ahead and tell me? The pure blood had no inkling about the connection. But finally his lips parted and he answered, like a small child.

 

The partner almost thundered - If you can remember what you learnt twenty years ago, why cant you remember something that happened four years ago?

 

The pure blood wished that the ground (aka conference room) would swallow him.

That was not the end of the humiliation. The partner then called for one of the firm's associates and asked him a question on some law (the pure blood was no more in a position to comprehend which law). The associate was also probably having a bad day, he fumbled with the incorrect answer.

The partner ordered him to take the relevant statute out, made him read the law and asked him to write out the same and prepare for a 'test' by evening, failing which his salary for that month would be halved.

 

The ordeal went on for fifteen minutes, at the end of which the partner once again turned his attention to the pure blood. This time, to the utter disbelief of the pure blood, he offered to recruit him; with a catch of course - he would have to accept a cut in the current salary (mind you - recession was never heard of at that time), as a token of gratitude for moving up the law firm ladder.

And just to entice him, the partner took him around the firm and also to the terrace cafeteria where daily lunch (on the house) was served. He also introduced him to other staff while showing him around and much to the pure blood's relief, bid him a good day!

 

Whether the pure blood took the job or not is anyone's guess. But I had learnt my lesson - something which we are told every now and then - be thorough with every comma, semicolon and full stop of your CV and do not include stuff which you cannot substantiate.

 

The pure blood felt so much better outside, notwithstanding the hot summer afternoon sun beating down on him... Indeed he had survived today to continue his quest for the quintessential life.

 

First published in http://www.legallyindia.com